Please Help Me Out - Boxster or C6 Corvette?

[RandallNeighbour]

Doug,

I find it VERY humorous that you'd ask hundreds of Boxster owners on this forum if you should buy a Boxster or a Corvette. It shouldn't be too hard to guess what we'd tell you, would it?

I think you should take Richard's advice (BruceLee) and drive both, decide what you'd enjoy driving for as long as you plan to keep it, and then make your decision.

As a little kid, I dreamed of owning a Porsche. What did you dream of owning one day? Buy that car and find out if it was worth dreaming about all these years.

For me, it was a Porsche, for which there is no subsitute (including the Corvette).

I personally prefer something a bit "unique".


Vette's are a dime a dozen around here. No one looks at them unless they are being driven by a jerk, dragging off the line at a traffic light, and then most folks just roll their eyes.


When people see a pooch, they look because it is unique and beautiful. You don't have to drive like an ass to get noticed.


I've had more folks come up and admire my car than you'll ever get with a Vette. Again because they are a bit "exotic".

You might also want to consider gas mileage.

[98Boxster98]

I like the BruceLee way - get them both. Then do a long term study on which you like better.

don't forget one thing, if you get the vette we will not have you back on the best forum in the world!!! :dance:

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by olly986

don't forget one thing, if you get the vette we will not have you back on the best forum in the world!!! :dance:

That is very nice to hear but in truth, we would welcome anyone who likes to chat Boxsters, owners or not.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider 310

The comparison was between an 83 vette and 83 944, the vette lost in the slalom to a 944, so did a 928 and a 308 Ferrari ..It was an article I read which was a repost from R&T I think. I'm well aware that the current Vette can run with it's contemporaries, if you guys like em, go for it...The other dude posted that the 84 vette was the fastest production car that year, I still maintain that it wasn't..

You may want to chech that article again. A 1983 corvette doesn't exist. GM didn't offer a vette for 83. They jumped that year and went into the C4 for the 84 year.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by creseida

You might also want to consider gas mileage. [/color][/size]

The boxster's mpg rating is worse than the corvettes.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by MikenOH

One small issue which entered into the decision making was the way that a few Chevy dealers treated prospective buyers. We tried to drive a 6spd and were told that Vette buyers wanted 0 miles on their cars so they didn't allow for a lot of test drives. Our local P dealer on the other hand let us drive both a base and an S; another P car dealer did the same. Seems to me if you want people to plunk down $45-50K on a car, they should be allowed to get it out on the road to see if they like it.

That just amazes me that they would expect someone to buy a vehicle without a test drive first. When I was out boxster shopping I saw a used base model at some saturn dealership. I just got done test driving a Z4 and M-roadster accross the street at the BMW dealership. The saturn salesmen wouldn't let me take it for a test drive because he thought I was just some punk fresh out of college. He was trying to point me to the saturn EON's or whatever they are. I eventually ended up getting a brand new 03 S at Tom Woods which is a dealership in Indy. They let me take out the car without the salesmen ridalong and they were very helpful. I knew that was the right car and the right dealership.

[deliriousga]

American engineering vs. German engineering....no contest. Go with the Porsche. I've had several friends who bought new Vettes to sell them a year later for something else because of disappointment with quality. Check the 928 forums and you'll see several people who dumped their new Vettes for 20 year old Porsches and have never regretted it.

[Ronzi]

My comments won't have anything to do with the statistical comparison between the Porsche and the 'Vette. Others have done a good job of that.

Rather, I would urge you to take into consideration what a Porsche IS.
The history of the Boxster can be traced in a straight line to a lumber shed in Austria in 1947, to a company founded by Ferry Porsche, son of arguably the greatest automotive designer that ever lived, Ferdinand Porsche.

When you buy a Porsche, part of what you are buying is that lineage, that history, that place in development of the automobile.
If you research the history of the development of Porsche cars, you cannot help but be struck by one fact. The Porsche sports cars of today look remarkably like the original design laid down by Ferdinand Porsche in the 1930's.
The man was a genius. The first four-wheel drive car. The first mid-engine Grand Prix car. The first HYBRID car for pete's sake.

How many independent low-volume automobile manufacturers are there left in the world? No more than a handful, surely. Yet Porsche manages to maintain their position as manufacturer of the pre-eminent cars in their market segment. The one their competitor's use as the benchmark, the standard for all the others.

Porsche. There is no substitute.

[faterikcartman]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider 310

I don't like the balance of the Vette, I know it has good skid pad numbers but I still prefer the grip of the Porsche and Vettes ride like stagecoach wagons,every crack is felt. As for the production car fastest dealio, get the Lambo and the vette, I'll race in the lambo anyday..GM is not a sports car manufacturer, nor will they ever be. I know a lot of people love them and that's good with me. I had access to a 69 with both tops factory 4 speed, I liked it because of it's looks and brute speed so I do get it. It really does depend on what you want, the two vehicles are very different IMHO. I didn't mean to offend anyone..
Peace..

GM not a sports car manufacturer? If you want to spank an '06 Z06 Vette with a new Porsche I hope you bring your Carrera GT!

[faterikcartman]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider 310

The comparison was between an 83 vette and 83 944, the vette lost in the slalom to a 944, so did a 928 and a 308 Ferrari ..It was an article I read which was a repost from R&T I think. I'm well aware that the current Vette can run with it's contemporaries, if you guys like em, go for it...The other dude posted that the 84 vette was the fastest production car that year, I still maintain that it wasn't..

Don't backtrack brother, you said "GM is not a sports car manufacturer, nor will they ever be"! :troll:

Furthermore, I don't know squat about 1983 Vettes, but from 1982 to 1985 (a four year period) Lambo only sold 323 Countach cars--I'm not convinced averaging 80 cars a year qualifies as a "production" car. By production car I'm pretty sure most enthusiasts are talking about a car produced on an assembly line in large numbers, not hand built one at a time.

And the person who said the Vettes of today have a low build quality sure is right. The plastic is cheap and the seats feel weak, etc., etc., but they have come a long way recently.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Ronzi

My comments won't have anything to do with the statistical comparison between the Porsche and the 'Vette. Others have done a good job of that.

Rather, I would urge you to take into consideration what a Porsche IS.
The history of the Boxster can be traced in a straight line to a lumber shed in Austria in 1947, to a company founded by Ferry Porsche, son of arguably the greatest automotive designer that ever lived, Ferdinand Porsche.

When you buy a Porsche, part of what you are buying is that lineage, that history, that place in development of the automobile.
If you research the history of the development of Porsche cars, you cannot help but be struck by one fact. The Porsche sports cars of today look remarkably like the original design laid down by Ferdinand Porsche in the 1930's.
The man was a genius. The first four-wheel drive car. The first mid-engine Grand Prix car. The first HYBRID car for pete's sake.

How many independent low-volume automobile manufacturers are there left in the world? No more than a handful, surely. Yet Porsche manages to maintain their position as manufacturer of the pre-eminent cars in their market segment. The one their competitor's use as the benchmark, the standard for all the others.

Porsche. There is no substitute.

Hi,

Unquestionably, Porsche has had a great lineage. But, much of it came from when the Company was Family Owned and Run, when Profit was Secondary to Quality and Performance. Much has changed since that time.



I totally disagree that one is buying this Provenance when buying a Modern Porsche. To follow this Logic would dictate that we all drive either Mercedes or Fords as their's is the greatest Provenance of all.

But, as I stated, Porsche does have a great Provenance, but maybe not as great as you seem to think, you have a few Facts mixed up... The Czech Company Tatra manufactured the 1st 4-wheel Drive Truck in 1898 - Porsche's 4X4 Truck was built by Jacob Lohner, AG in 1900 and is a contested 4-wheel drive design - no patent was ever awarded. The 1st 4-wheel drive car was the Dutch 1902 Spyker 60 HP. The first 4-wheel drive Race Cars were the Bugatti Type 53 (1932) and the Miller Indy Racers (1932), the 1st Gran Prix Mid-Engine Car was the Auto Union V16 Type C and the V12 Type D (1937) driven at the Nurburgring by Tazio Nuvolari, the 1st Mid-engine Formula 1 Car was the Lotus Type 25 (1962).

But, back on point, when you buy a Car, any Car, you are buying the Car you're in, not the Ones that were, or Those to come.

It's been my fortune to own some of the most distinguished Sports Cars in History including a Jaguar E-Type, Alpha Duetto Spyder, TVR Griffin, Austin Healey 100/M, Lotus Elan, Lotus Europa, Lotus Esprit, Porsche 912, Datsun 240Z. These are recognized by most as some of the best Cars to come along, but because of the Drive they offered, not because of the Badge they sported.

I love my Boxster, but not because it's a Porsche. I love it for it's Looks, Feel and Performance - I don't Buy Labels. Take this Car and slap a Mazda, Ford or even Yugo Badge on the Hood and it's still a great Car. To me at least, slapping a Porsche Badge on it does not make it a Better Car. One should never buy a Car because of it's Label...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[rbennett]

Let's see, a Porsche or a C6....Hmmmm

Oh yaa, a Porsche!

Sorry biased

Get use to seeing this if on a coastal or mountain road, you can have the next red light

rbennett, I am not very good with personalized plates....so, what does yours mean? Channel...like the perfume??

[Ronzi]

I suspect the plate is a take-off of the German word "schnell", which means something like quick or hurry-up.

Many of your points are well-taken mnboxster, however, I still contend that many purchases of enthusiast-type cars are motivated by things other than engineering factors. If that were not true the car companies wouldn't spend the millions and millions they do trying to build an image.

You didn't mention it, but I'm sure you realize that the Auto Union was designed by ol' Ferdy.

The post-WWII Porsche folks also designed a beast called the Cisitalia, intended to compete in the F1 World Championship events that commenced in 1950. After many years of financial tribulations, the project was dropped in the '52 or '53. The final configuration was mid-engine 1500cc supercharged flat 12 cyl. At one time in the development, 4-wheel drive was part of the design.

Many rear-engine cars competed in F1 events prior to the Lotus 25, although they were generally up-rated F2 designs, not full F1 spec. Stirling Moss won the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix in a 2.2 liter rear-engine Cooper, a victory that marks the first post-wwII victory by a rear-engine car. The Lotus 25 was certainly a landmark car, but hardly the first rear-engine post-war Grand Prix design.

Much ado about ancient history, eh?

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by rbennett

Get use to seeing this if on a coastal or mountain road, you can have the next red light

I like that...

Originally Posted by bmussatti

rbennett, I am not very good with personalized plates....so, what does yours mean? Channel...like the perfume??

That's good too...


Won't the Vette seem utterly huge when coming from a Miata? When you sit all hunkered down in that GM plastic with that big ol' hood in front of you... that will seem very different from what you're used to. Boxster -the roadster obviously, will be ever so familiar. Though the Vette and Boxster can seem somewhat comprable, compared to what you're coming from (the Miata), it's a pretty radical change.

As for the 80s car debate... wow, shouldn't we just put that decade behind us? I'm not a fan of anything from that era... we should be ashamed of ourselves (Vette, Porsche, Lambo -everything... UG!)

Except for the 88 Maxima... I, for some reason, LOVED that car!

[xclusivecar]

Had a C5, Z-28, and even a Lotus Elise. I will never purchase any of those cars again. I have never tracked any of these cars so I won't go there...but...on the street the Boxster S I currently own has been the absolute best. As quick as the Z-28, a bit slower than the C5, and I truly believe quicker than the Lotus. The Vette was basically a flexable piece of ****************. Sorry to those that own them...but come on. This car felt like a HUGE PIG that just wanted to twist apart on every uneven patch of road. NEVER FELT SAFE! The C6 looks much tighter due to its smaller dimensions but I just don't trust Chevy did enough to firm up the car. I vowed to never buy the same car twice until I purchased the Boxster. I have never felt as home and secure as in this car. I sold my 3 month old Lotus Elise for it! I will buy a Boxster again! It's just that good of a feeling! I have come to realize only recently that large, high horsepower engines don't make a car. It should be a total sensory experience combining power, handling, style, AND the secure feeling which lacked in all the above cars!

[Brucelee]

Just as long as you don't have strong feelings about it.

[threpwood]

Originally Posted by xclusivecar

Had a C5, Z-28, and even a Lotus Elise. I will never purchase any of those cars again. I have never tracked any of these cars so I won't go there...but...on the street the Boxster S I currently own has been the absolute best. As quick as the Z-28, a bit slower than the C5, and I truly believe quicker than the Lotus. The Vette was basically a flexable piece of ****************. Sorry to those that own them...but come on. This car felt like a HUGE PIG that just wanted to twist apart on every uneven patch of road. NEVER FELT SAFE! The C6 looks much tighter due to its smaller dimensions but I just don't trust Chevy did enough to firm up the car. I vowed to never buy the same car twice until I purchased the Boxster. I have never felt as home and secure as in this car. I sold my 3 month old Lotus Elise for it! I will buy a Boxster again! It's just that good of a feeling! I have come to realize only recently that large, high horsepower engines don't make a car. It should be a total sensory experience combining power, handling, style, AND the secure feeling which lacked in all the above cars!

C6 still have body roll, but the LS2 makes up for it Nevertheless Vette is Vette and I still love it (of course boxster too) for its look and engine. Viper is nice too...if it's not that LOUD.